Why I fell in love with the 2017 Kia Sorento

Many years ago, Kia hit the scene in the U.S. and I distinctly remember the buy one get one free commercials. As in buy one car get one free. The commercials didn’t exactly instill confidence in purchasing one of their cars.

In fact, I did some digging and I found one of those classic commercials and I linked it below.

After, my two weeks driving ‘my car’, my opinion of Kia and their brand completely changed. In fact, the woman picking up the Sorento might have had to pry the car keys out of my hand.

The car had the ability to turn heads.

I heard things like “THIS is a KIA?!” “This car is what I consider a luxury vehicle.”

The thoughts being uttered by friends were the same things that I was thinking. I was smitten from the moment that I sat in the driver’s seat.

So I guess you are wondering “what does the 2017 Kia Sorento look like?”

Wonder no longer, take a look at the beautiful interior and exterior of the Sorento below.

 

The designers of this car thought of everything and it is chock full of intuitive safety features. Never once did I question the safety of my children or myself while we were doing our daily trips. Our day to day lives has us in the car, quite a lot, from school drop off, to work, to practice after school and all of the errands in between.

Intuitive Safety Features

The model that I was fortunate enough to drive was equipped with lane detection, in other words, there would be a beep if you strayed from your lane. You know, if for some reason your kids distract you from the road, not that it ever happens, but just in case, that feature is there.

Another feature that I really liked was the cross traffic indicator that activates when the car is in reverse. The backup camera has a very wide view, but should a car or even a kid on a bike start to cross your path while backing out of your driveway, the cross traffic alert will let you know that it isn’t yet safe to continue backing out.

Also, the side mirrors on the car had blind spot detection. An orange light will come on as there is a car in either your blindspot on the driver’s side or the passenger’s side. If you turn on your blinker while the indicator is lit up, the light will flash and you will hear a beep.

The only aspect of the car that I didn’t like in terms of visibility was the A post, I found that it blocked a large portion of my view, I am 5’6, and think that a taller person than I wouldn’t have any problem as far as visibility goes.

My husband who is 6 feet tall, didn’t find the seats, especially the headrest very comfortable, while I, on the other hand, thought they were extremely comfortable.

Room to Spread Out

The model that I drove, had two rows but when building the vehicle online, there is the option to add an additional row if that is something that your family would need.

However, after seeing the trunk features, I don’t know that I would want to give up the extras for a 3rd row. You see, the trunk has cargo compartments that allow for the items you are carrying to fit securely. I was driving the Sorento during Easter weekend and I fit Easter baskets and a crockpot in the cargo area and it was such a nice relief not to worry about spilling my potatoes all over the backend of the car.

A car with a view

As silly as it may sound, my favorite feature was the panoramic sunroof. I loved how bright, airy and large the sunroof made the car and my kids really enjoyed it as well.  It was raining after a trip out to our family farm to see my parents and my youngest had fallen asleep (something that rarely happens) and my oldest was looking up, mesmerized by the raindrops and the pattern that they were making.

A Charger for Everyone

The back seat was plenty roomy for my kids and for my very tall coworkers that bummed a ride with me to lunch one day during our work day. You shouldn’t hear much squabbling over outlets, as the backseat came equipped with a household plug and 2 USB ports, in the front, there was a USB port in the center console and one in the area just by the gearshift. Additionally, there were a few 12-volt options spread out around the vehicle.

Safety and Power

The Sorento has All Wheel Drive, a feature that I grew to love during one particularly icy winter here in Kentucky when I owned my SUV. The pick up in the Sorento was great, there was never a worry for me about having to merge onto the swiftly moving highways that I frequent on a regular basis.

The Kia that I was able to drive for what seemed like the quickest 2 weeks in history, quickly captured my heart. I am sorry to admit that prior to driving the Sorento, the brand was never on my list of vehicles to consider. After my experience, it quickly catapulted itself to the top of my list. The model that I drove was priced at $38,000.

So, if ya’ll ever hear of Kia doing another buy one get one sale, do me a favor and give me a shout so that I can go and snag one.

*Kia Motors lent me this vehicle for the purpose of a review, but as always, all opinions are my own.